What happens
Riley buys a dozen loaves of bread on the black market during a national bread shortage, and his family and lodge brothers quickly find out. Riley is ashamed of what he has done and tries to hide the bread and keep the truth from his wife, Peg. His son Junior is pulled into the scheme, and Riley's lodge brother Gillis is soon involved. The story follows Riley's efforts to escape the consequences of his bad decision. The Life of Riley aired on the Blue Network/ABC and NBC on June 8, 1946, with William Bendix as Riley and Paula Winslowe as Peg, alongside Hans Conried and Alan Reed in the cast.
Riley's home and the neighborhood during a bread shortage in the 1940s, including a back alley bakery run by black marketeers and the lodge hall of the Brooklyn Patriots of Los Angeles.
Characters: Riley, Peg, Junior, Gillis, Benny, Fred, Digger O'Dell
Listen for: Riley's attempts to hide the bread from his wife, and the lodge brothers' trial of him for black market dealing.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.